Ceto
by the-emileighain-mountains
Summary: The Great War is slowly coming to an end but the German forces have stolen an important document from the Zoological Society that could shift the balance of the war. Dr. Barlow believes that Alek and Deryn are right for the job and send them to Amiens, France the gain information on the stolen documents. Along the way they make new allies and enemy's alike
1. Prologue

Hello! This is my first fanfiction ever soooooooo I really hope everyone likes it. Please feel free to comment and review.

Disclaimer: Im not Scott Westerfield

Prologue

Deryn Sharp looked over the crystal waters of the Mediterranean Sea, feeling the rough hide of the Leviathan beneath her. She was back home; where she belonged. As she gazed at the sight below something warm brushed against her hand. The Midshipmen looked over and saw Alek sitting next to her with this posture of royalty about him. He was talking, but she couldn't make out what he was saying. It sounded as though he were speaking into a pillow_. Maybe it's the wind _she thought to herself. Deryn sat in the quiet, still air taking in all the sounds and smells of her beloved airship. The shouts of orders further up on the spine, the barking of hydrogen sniffers, even the faint smell of clart sent a warm ache into her heart. She missed flying.

Among the beauty of the sea and the steady breeze, Deryn felt a shiver shoot up her spine and noticed that she lost her hearing completely. A distant thrum filled the whale with subtle hum. "Something isn't right," she said out loud, the silent Alek looked at her quizzically. Then with a mighty lurch, the leviathan tipped to the starboard side. Deryn and Alek were sent grappling for the ratlines, desperately trying to find a handhold. Beside her Alek was struggling to find a hold and when he did it slipped from his feeble grasp. Quickly she reached put and took ahold of his wrist. Fear was written on every inch of the former prince's face. "Hang on, Alek!"

The Leviathan continued its roll and if it did not stop soon they would both be dangling from the side of the whale. Deryn glanced up at her own ratline, which was starting to ravel out. She looked down at Alek, he was mouthing the silent words, "Let go, let me go." She didn't want to; Alek was her best friend, one of her only friends and not to mention she loved him with every fiber of her being. Losing him would be losing a part of her. Fléchette bats and Strafing hawks were flying around them, being disturbed from their nests. Finally the sound found her and filled her head with the screeching of the beasties in the air and the hissing of hydrogen escaping from the Leviathan's membrane. She dared herself to look down and saw Alek now yelling those same fatal words, "let go, let me go!" Tears were causing his green eyes to glisten, "Deryn, please! If you don't we will both fall!"

Deryn was screaming now, but she couldn't hear her own voice, which prompted her to scream even more, mixed with some select profanities. She was growing tired of this selective hearing of hers. Then the ratline burst loose and they slid down the remaining hide of the leviathan, at the last moment Deryn caught herself on a single rope hanging down. However, she felt Alek's fingers slip through hers, heard a deafening cry that if she could hear herself would match her own. She felt as if she herself were of falling. That weightless feeling was welling up in her stomach and tying a thick knot around her heart.

The great hydrogen breather began to turn upright once more, making it seem as though Alek was the weight that sent it rolling. Unable to move she lay there, curled up on her side against the warmth of the Leviathan. Gasping for air and gagging on her sorrow. He was gone… Her daft prince was gone forever from her life. Sounds became clear again and the clatter of clanker gunfire forced her to look to the sky. Beyond the tip of the leviathan, near the early morning horizon was an uncountable amount of clanker Zeppelins. Ornicopters were pouring out like bees of an angry hive. She could hear the bullets whipping past and pierce through the membrane with a slight pop, filling her nose the scent of almonds. As more and more hydrogen left the hull, she could feel the beastie descend toward the now hungry, white-capped fingers of the Mediterranean. For a moment the air went completely silent once more. It almost seemed like everything was in slow-motion as the armada was finally upon them. In the quietness she could hear two simple words, yet irritatingly familiar.

"_Mister_ Sharp"

The Scott glanced around and saw only one person on the back of the whale. "Da?" Her voice quavered and squeak into the octaves of a girl.

"_Mister_ Sharp" the voice rang out again.

As she took a step toward her father, a deafening explosion shook the remains the beastie. The shock wave flooded her ears with sounds again. She cursed hearing the frantic cries of the crewman trapped in the burning gondola, the sharp twang of bullets hitting metal, the roar of fire which she knew would be the end of them.

"_Mister_ Sharp" Her father said for the last time, but now more people were with him; Ma, Jaspert, Dr. Barlow, Newkirk, Lilit. All of them, everyone one she knew, were there staring at her with blank expressions as the Leviathan erupted into a great ball of fire. Engulfing her and everyone she cared about.

Deryn woke up with a start, sweat covering her body and soaking though her sheets.

"_Mister_ Sharp" This time it was followed by a well-known giggle. Bovril was watching her from the edge of the bed making the sounds of footsteps when the door opened.

"Oh, I wasn't aware you were awake yet", Alek said half-way between entering and walking away

A smile crept its way across her face. It had only been a dream. She sat up stiff from her fretful sleep, "Could you give a minute. I'm not decent."

"I'll wait outside." Alek said shutting her cabin door.

_He must have something important to tell me_.

She rubbed her eyes trying to knead any remaining thoughts or feeling of the monstrous dream. Throwing her feet over the edge the bed, she got up and began to get ready. She heard a sliding noise and noticed Alek slid a sheet of paper underneath the door. Picking it up she saw it had been folded into three sections, similar to the folds of letter.

"You might want to hurry." Alek said from the other side of the door. Deryn skimmed the surprisingly short letter:

_Dear Mr. Hohenberg,_

_I have written this letter in advance so that there would be no delay in you receiving it. I must inform you that you will be presented an offer, asking something very important of you and Mr. Sharp. I expect the two of you to be at my office by 10:00 sharp to disuse things further._

_Yours truly,_

_Dr. Nora Barlow_

_P.S: Do make sure that Mr. Sharp looks presentable_

"Alek, what time is it?" She asked removing the remnants of yesterday's clothes and began to wrap new binding around her chest.

"It is ten forty-six"

"Barking spiders!" Deryn shouted, frantically looking for something decent to wear.

Alek laughed, "Remember, _presentable_ Deryn."

Deryn scrambled to put her boots on, "You could've woken me up a squick earlier you daft prince?" She voiced out.

"It's more fun this way." Alek said with a laugh.

Deryn finally with her best clothes on and ready to go said "Alright well next time try waking me up bum rag, ok?" She opened the door, Bovril waddling out and climbing up to its perch on her shoulder. There stood Alek, fixing the cuff on his shirt facing away from the doorway. She smiled to herself and has he turned around, "Good?" Her arms rose slightly, gesturing at her suit.

"Beautiful" He leaned forward and kissed Deryn on the forehead, then grabbed her hand and made for Dr. Barlow's office.

Dr. Barlow's office was one of many apart of the large building that the Zoological Society operated out of. As a whole the building was equip with labs, archives, cabins, and the largest green house in London. Not to mention the zoo that the Society ran and looked after. It was no Leviathan, but it was the closest thing to a home Deryn had.

"You're late." The boffin said, annoyed, but Tazza greeted them happily. Her own loris repeated it along with several _tsk_ sounds. It and Bovril crawled down onto the table and began catching up with one another. Sharing new words and phrases quietly. "Sadly I have no time to lecture you on the importance of being timely. There are more oppressing matters at hand, please sit." She gestured at the two chairs in front of her large fabricated deck. It appeared too sculpted out of bees wax from the tiny hexagons in its intricate design. They sat and waited for this offer they've heard so little about. "I have a job for you, a mission." She paused for a moment, "A German spy slipped into one of our archives and stole blueprints and various notes a few weeks back. Most of which were from our latest project in creating a fabricated submarine. Without the stolen information the project will take years to reconstruct. Now we have narrowed down on its location and believe it to be somewhere in Austria boarding France. The reason we have withheld this mission for so long was because of the Western Front. I was not about to send two children into a war zone but I have been left with no choice."

"Sorry to interrupt Dr. Barlow, but why us?" Alek said.

"You see, Alek, we believe the blueprints to be in Austria so naturally you're the most qualified."

"What exactly is that ma'am?" Deryn said scratching across the stripes on Tazza's back.

"Your mission is to travel to Amiens, France and gather as much information on the stolen items. When you report back with your findings we will send an agent to do all the dirty wok" The boffin glances at the pocket watch on her desk, "You'll be leaving in six hours, any more questions?"

Deryn and Alek both shook their heads and stood up to leave.

"One more thing," Dr. Barlow said, stopping them in the door way. Bovril waddled his way onto Alek's shoulder, whispering new words. "When you get there try to find Dr. Felix Morin. He is head of this project and would be more than willing to help get back his work. I do warn you that he is a rather strange man." She wished them the best of luck and waved them off.


	2. Chapter 1

**A/N- Hello Everyone! I now give you the first chapter of the Ceto story. Please feel free to review or even suggest ideas.**

**Disclaimer: Im not Mr. Westerfeld**

One

Welcome To Amiens

The pub shook as another bomb run was taking place a few towns over. Sounds of shivering glass and distant rumbles silenced the room. Some people paused, listening and waiting for a shell to meet them with same fate as the distant town. While others simply let the liquor continue to burn down their throats without hesitation. Alek and Deryn entered the pub, the door shutting behind them with a quake.

"Are you sure this is an Inn?" Deryn asked walking up to the bar. Alek noticed that she took care to use her boys' voice. It didn't come as a surprise given the amount of testosterone in the room. The former prince joined her and took his own precautions. He looked at everyone in the pub making sure that they weren't followed or expected. Volger's paranoia had seemed to rub off on him.

"Yes, I'm sure of it." He gave a reassuring glance to Deryn, "We will be gone by morning."

Bas de L'auberge de Auderge was one of the few standing pubs that doubled as an inn, in this part of France. Its close vicinity to the western front did not make a very desirable location and yet the room was full of people, most of who were allied soldiers. All were drinking, laughing, or telling war stories in loud, slurred French. A few gathered around a woman playing at a battered piano near the stairs that lead up into the inn part of the pub. The only resident that appeared sober was a young man that sat at the far end of the bar, taking small sips of clear liquor, his eyes never leaving the papers spread out in front of him.

Bovril seemed to be the only one of the trio, enjoying the new setting. The Loris was tucked away in the rucksack on Deryn's back, but was still contently muttering bits of the new language and trying its best to mimic the piano.

"Puis-je vous aider?" the bar tender asked, spitting into a glass before taking a rag to it. The young man at the end of the bar noticed and lowered his own glass and pushed to the side, earning a chuckle from Deryn.

Alek switched to French, "Uh, yes. We would like to rent one of your rooms, please?" He placed a few coins on the bar. The bar tender looked between the two then replaced the coins with a key that bore a tag with a faded "3" in elegant script. Alek gave his thanks and gathered up the key.

As he and Deryn made their way to the stairs, one of the soldiers grabbed Deryn by the arm and plopped her down beside him.

"Aye! Whsy vdon't you layds join ufs sfor ja drink?" The man said obviously drunk, but in English of all things. His arm was draped around Deryn's shoulders and Alek could smell the alcohol from where he was standing. He could see the shock in the former middies eyes and her desperate attempts to escape the soldiers grasp. As Alek rushed over, an arm extended in front of him before he could reach her. He looked to see who had stopped him and saw the young man from the bar. A scowl nestled between his brows.

"Captain Prosper?" He said in French, walking to stand in front of the drunken man, "I do believe I heard a woman calling your name from the street." The young man seemed irritated in the midst of drunken men. Captain Prosper perked up and immediately stumbled his way to door while the rest of the men whistled and howled. How clever.

Deryn got up and walked back over the Alek, brushing her hands over the spots where the drunks arm was. Alek turned to thank the man, but he had already returned to the bar.

"Sir?" Deryn asked already one step ahead of the former prince, "Thank you for the help."

The man turned to face the pair fully, "Anytime my dear boy." He said and turned back to gather up his things, "My name is Felix." Felix had a square jaw and fine features with a scar that parted the tip of his right eyebrow from the rest. His dark hair was short on the sides, almost shaven, with long messy waves on the top that showed endless nights of restless fingers combing their way through it. Though he looked tired, he was well shaven and alert, his voice silvery and appealing. He looked as though he were in his late twenties or early thirties and was rather thin for a man and only a bit taller than Deryn.

Alek and Deryn both gave him their thanks once more, but before the two could part ways with Felix, the man placed a hat upon his head. Not just any hat. A hat they had grown far too familiar with. A black bowler. The trademark of a boffin.

After the boffin finished placing his papers in a leather shoulder bag he turned to begin his walk to the stairs but bumped dead into Alek, "Oh my heavens, I didnt see you there, lad." Felix said placing a hand on Alek's shoulder to balance himself. "I thought you two had left already. Did I miss a question?"

"No sir, it's just", Alek said trying to think of the right words to say. This man could be a spy after all, "It's just that… You wouldn't happen to be Dr. Morin or know of him?"

"Aye", he answered raising his scared brow, "that is me". Dr. Morin studied them through large round glasses, seeming to take in every detail about them. Suddenly his eyes grew wide, "I-I know you! I've seen you… In the papers! You're that prin-"

"Shhh!" Alek felt himself tense up and saw how Deryn placed her hand near her belt where her rigging knife was, "Please, may we speak somewhere more private?"

Dr. Morin nodded, immediately recomposing himself, "But before we go." The boffin reached a hand toward the rafters of the pub making a small whistling noise that reminded Alek of the whistles on the Leviathan. Alek followed the direction of the out stretched arm and saw a strange dark creature staring at them through large amber eyes. It to extend an arm down to the doctor's and climbed its way down onto his shoulder. The creature looked to be a mix of a lemur and a bat and was about the size of a dog. It had thin black hair that grew thick around the neck and tail but almost if not completely absent around the paws, muzzle, eyes, and abdomen. Its large leathery wings wavered, opening and reopening to keep itself balanced. "This is Cher Ami. Now, where were we?"

Dr. Morin's room at the inn looked like a mad man had projected his thoughts on to the walls. Papers were pinned to random places with bits of strings connecting most of them. Some even hung from the ceiling. Why was it that every boffin they came across had a few loose screws?

"I hope this is private enough for you", the boffin began to collect the papers and neatly place them in a pile on a small writing desk, "sorry about the mess."

"It's alright, this will do" Deryn said while glancing at the clutter. The half empty cups of coffee and liquor strewn around the room filled the air with their smells.

Alek went to walk further into the room but was stopped by a couple stacks of old, dusty books. "You seem to like books" Alek said with a hidden smirk.

Felix looked up from his collection of papers, he looked distracted. "Oh yes, you can never know too much. Plus it helps to keep the ol'gears running." he pointed to his temple. "Care to explain yourselves?"

"Yes of course," Alek started, "I am Alek Hohenberg and this is Dylan Sharp." He motioned a hand to Deryn who nodded politely. She was removing the rucksack from her back allowing Bovril to crawl its way out onto her shoulder.

"Mister Sharp," it chirped happily.

"Aye and this is Bovril" Deryn added, scratching the beasties head. Cher Ami leaped down from its place on top of the room's wardrobe eyeing the loris with intense curiosity. "Dr. Barlow said you knew what the stolen plans were all about." Deryn said with a slow pace.

"Dr. Barlow?" Felix pulled out couple seats for them that looked an awful lot like the ones from the pub. "The Society sent you?"

"Yes." They took the seats and adjusted them accordingly around a map that Felix had laid out. Alek removed a few papers that had gotten caught underneath his chair legs and handed them to the doctor. A few rough sketches of an airship stretched across the white expanse; the word _Ceto_ was written boldly at the top, "I believe we were sent for this."

"That's what I thought or hoped more like." Dr. Morin placed the drawing off to the side, "Though I didn't quite expect them to send a Prince and a sailor."

"Well that's what you got. So what do you know about these blueprints?" Deryn said not looking up from the map.

"More oppressing matters," Bovril reminded them in Dr. Barlow's voice from a top a stack of books. The Loris was saying simple words and phrases with slow, careful clarity to Cher Ami. Cher Ami only replied with snuffles and staring.

"The beasties right." Deryn agreed, loosening her tie for this could be a long night.

Dr. Morin gave a focused nod and began.


End file.
